Exploring the Effect of Reservoir Storage on Peak Discharge Frequency
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 12
Abstract
In this paper, a simple hydrologic example is employed to illustrate the important features of reservoir regulated flood frequency. Despite its practical significance, the estimation of reservoir regulated flood frequency is largely dominated by empirical methodologies containing assumptions that could lead to incorrect results. The goal of this paper is to show by means of a continuous rainfall-runoff simulation how several reservoir variables, including the reservoir storage capacity, the size of release structures, operation rules, and the statistical variability of inflows to the reservoir, quantitatively control the regulated flood frequency. Although the example presented in this paper does not encompass the full complexity of the problem, it reveals important features of the regulated flood frequency. The study also highlights how specific assumptions in the traditional and widely used inflow volume-duration-frequency (VDF)–based methodology could lead to underestimation of flood risk for locations downstream from reservoirs. This paper, therefore, provides insight into the steps necessary to move away from the VDF-based empirical analysis towards a more realistic framework for estimating regulated flood frequencies. Simultaneously, the difficulties in fully addressing this problem are acknowledged and, consequently, continued examination of this important subject by the hydrological-science and engineering community is advocated.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa for the financial support of this research. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Professor Kenneth Potter and two anonymous referees whose comments and suggestions have helped improve the original manuscript.
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© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 21, 2012
Accepted: Sep 26, 2012
Published online: Feb 15, 2013
Discussion open until: Jul 15, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
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